As Time Goes By
by Christy W
Summary: Some of the things that Alissa has been through over the centuries (Alissa's Interests Series #2)...when I add new ficlets, they'll have a NEW at the end of the chapter
1. Blood Runs Grey

Title: Blood Runs Grey  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 13  
Fandom/Theme: Highlander/Buffy  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
A/N: This is actually part of a much larger series that I've written out longhand, but keep losing pieces of.  
Summary: Alissa deals with an Immortal she runs into in 1930s Chicago.

She looked around downtown Chicago, surprisingly busy considering the Depression gripping most of the nation. She'd had to die again back after the Great War since most of her family, including that wonderful little girl she'd once introduced Guinan to, had all died in the ensuing influenza epidemic. Still melancholy over something that had happened nearly 20 years ago, as only an Immortal could, Alissa didn't look where she was going and got clipped by a nearby roadster.

"Oy, lady! I'm sorry- I didn't see ya there. Lemme help you up."

Alissa tipped her hat back and smiled up at the broad Sicilian face. "It was entirely my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

"No, no. I insist that, to make up for it, you come with me to relax over some food. My friend owns a place nearby. Whatcha say? Least I could do for nearly runnin' ya over."

"All right, but on one condition," she said with a laugh. "Tell me your name."

"Henry Lansky."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lansky. My name is Jennifer. Jennifer Parker."

Myer Lansky's nephew strolled into his restaurant a couple hours later, the beautiful Miss Parker on his arm. The Maître d', seeing who it was, personally sat them at a nearby table and promptly sent over the house wine.

"Miss Parker, I do apologize again for my inattention on the road. How long have you lived in Chicago?" Henry asked as he poured.

"Only a few years- the Depression, you know," Alissa explained with a sad smile. She was about to continue when she felt the tell-tale sign of a nearby Immortal. She turned with a curious look as the feel intensified and Henry got up to greet someone behind her.

"Miss Parker, may I introduce one of my family's closest associates- James Mathison, Miss Jennifer Parker."

It was all Alissa could do not to glare daggers at the former Confederate spy as introductions were made.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Parker. Mayhap later I can show you some parts of Chicago while you're with us," James offered.

"Hands off, Mathison- she's my gal tonight," Henry joked goodnaturedly as he put his arm around Alissa.

Mathison smiled coldly at the other Immortal. "Another time, then," he replied, before thanking Henry and heading to his own table.

"Can't understand why he'd act like that," Henry muttered. "He's generally so nice."

_For a gangster,_ Alissa thought sardonically. _Damn bastard tried to have me killed for being a Union spy back when your grandfather was young._

"So, got tired of young Lansky after only a month and ready to move on to me?" James asked, his southern accent more pronounced now that they were both alone.

"Hardly- you had me murdered for being on the 'wrong' side, you bastard," she ground out.

"Oh, come now, you're not going after my head for a mini ball," he scoffed.

"No, you're right. It's more for the fact that when you captured my three friends, you sold them as slaves. White women, Mathison! Why?"

James shrugged. "All women need to know their place, some more than others."

Alissa cocked her head to the side, one hand edging towards her sword. "Let me guess- either under a man's cock or his bootheel?" she asked as she drew her new katana.

"Oh no, I need it both ways and those three women did is admirably- with a little instruction, of course," he replied, taunting her, but Alissa just laughed and parried his first thrust as the fight began in earnest.

Derrick Brody tried to duck out of the way of the bullets whining by his head as they crisscrossed the vacant lot. He'd been temporarily assigned to Alisé MacKenzie as she'd been here in Chicago after his Potential had been killed in the gang violence. Now here she was trying to dodge bullets from the compatriots of the late James Mathison.

_Oh dear, and she's coming this way! They didn't cover what to do if the Immortal you're watching catches you. How am I supposed to deal with this?_he thought in a panic as Alissa, hair awry and clothing torn, crept towards him, still weakened from the Quickening.

"Here, this way, miss. Let's get you out of this mess. Damn shame, Chicago," he babbled as he put one of her arms over his shoulders.

"Please...help. Call...Duncan...Mac-" she managed before crumpling to the ground as she passed out.

_Welcome to Watchers overlap,_ Derrick thought as he picked her up and shuffled to his car and then his house to call for a Council doctor.


	2. A Little Something to Think About

Title : A Little Something to Think About  
Author : Christy  
Rating : FR15  
Disclaimer : I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. However, the creation of Alissa is something I'e been working on for years  
Fandoms : Angel/Highlander  
Timeline : Set after the series for Angel and during the series for Highlander  
Written For : twistedshorts Fic #15  
Summary : Hugh Fitzcarin runs into Alissa in 1970s London

Hugh Fitzcarin was nothing if not cautious. It had served him well so far in his 800 or so years and if the tingling at the back of his skull was any indication, he might be able to stay alive a little while longer. But he certainly wasn't expecting who came barreling around the corner and rammed into him, knocking his modish clothes all askew.

"Alissa? Damn fine way to run into you. What are you doing in London, luv? I haven't seen you since the War...or was it the Second one I ran into you during?"

Alissa chuckled as she linked arms with him and led him away from the direction she'd been coming from. "Well, I'm enjoying the Continent as my own freewheeling daughter to create another name for myself," she explained with a smirk. "In the mood for a pint, Fitz? It's on me, for not having seen you since the 40s."

Fitz's head spun and it was from more than just the alcohol. Alissa had always been enthusiastic in bed and tonight had been no different. He'd hoped it would end that way after she'd made her offer for drinks, and he had definitely been glad that she been open to what he'd suggested afterwards. He reached for her now, eager for another round, but her side of the bed was empty and growing cold. He got up and wandered around his flat for a bit before happening to glance out one of the windows to see her fighting. At first he thought it might be another Immortal, but she was fighting with only a small knife in her hand rather than her katana. He watched her feint left, then when her assailant lunged, she stabbed him in the heart, turning him to dust. Nodding in comprehension, he went back to bed to wait for her.

Alissa always hated when her Immortal and Slayer paths crossed. She knew a few Immortals knew a good portion of the Slayer mythos, such as Methos and Duncan. She looked over at Fitz, who sat patiently waiting for the answers to his reasonable questions, and she sighed mentally.

"Why do I bother fighting vampires, Fitz? Because I used to be a Slayer, once upon a time, and old habits die hard."


	3. Goodbye My Friend

Title: Goodbye My Friend  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 13  
Fandom/Theme: Highlander/ Buffy  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
A/N: This is actually part of a much larger series that I've written out longhand, but keep losing pieces of…This plot bunny surfaced after watching the Season 1 Finale of Highlander. So yes, there will be more to this Alissa MacKenzie story than just these shorts. And a great thank you goes out to Mark Carlson for compiling a fabulous timeline of everything Highlander.  
Summary: Alissa comes to Paris to say goodbye.

She stood by the grave, knowing no one was going to ever see the true numbers that belonged on Darius's gravestone. Not that anyone would have believed it anyways.

_Besides, how does one write it? 50 - 1993?_she thought as she heard footsteps behind her and the faint tingling at the back of her head.

"I see you got my call."

Alissa looked up at Duncan through a veil of tears. "You know, we didn't always get along. Hell, I never understood what he stood to gain by staying here for so long, but no one deserved this. Especially not him."

Duncan pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about it. I'll find out who did this. More importantly, do you need a place to stay?"

Alissa wiped her face and took a deep breath. "No, but thank you for the offer. I have a place I just bought since we've expanded the company into the European market now," she explained as they walked out of the cemetery.

"I'm certainly glad to hear that, but you have to at least come to dinner one time while you're in Paris. I'd love you to meet Tessa."

Alissa smiled. "What, so you want your current lover to meet one of your old ones?" she asked with a laugh.

"Oh, well, if you're going to bring up old lovers coming by, I can always call Fitz to come by and keep you company. He told me you two had quite an enjoyable time in Milan in the 1640s."

Alissa thought about exactly what she'd been in Milan for - trying to find the next Potential before the Order of Aurelius, but she'd thought it best not to shoot down Fitz's ego. He'd thought she'd come to Italy for him, and enjoyable though he was, she was first and foremost there to protect the Slayers.


	4. Genesis Effect

Title : Genesis Effect  
Author : Christy  
Rating : FR15  
Disclaimer : I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. I may not own the series that Alissa filters through, but the concept of her is something I came up with  
Fandoms : Buffy/Highlander  
Timeline : Set before the series for Buffy  
Written For : twistedshorts Fic #24  
Summary : Alissa decides that Buffy can use all the help she can get  
Author's Note : This story is part of my Alissa's Interests series...little ficlets that showcase the history of an Immortal former Slayer I created. Some people wanted to know about how she knows the Scooby Gang, so this fic was born.

I've always kept my ear to the ground at both Watcher's Councils. It's saved my life a couple of times and now I hear that the Council is up in arms about the newest Slayer. I smirk as I think about how much this Buffy (I would **never**name one my children that, thank Consort) will set things on their ears once the Council finds out she'd never been trained to do her destiny before Merrick came along. I've tried to help Slayers over the centuries, but I have a feeling this latest one may need a bit more than just the occasional help patrolling.

There's a knock on the door and my secretary pokes her head in the door. "Here's the fax from London you wanted, Miss MacKenzie."

"Thank you, Donna," I said, scanning my eyes down to the meat of the fax. My contact with the Slayers' side of the Watchers reported that Buffy and her mother had made plans to move from LA to a small town a few hours away, where it was both cheaper and far enough away from the whispers about why Buffy might have had cause to burn down Hemery High's gym. I cursed fluidly in French and Italian when I read that they'd decided on Sunnydale for their final destination, and called my secretary on the interoffice line. "Donna, I need you to look into medium to large properties in or near Sunnydale, California. Get back with me about which five you think I'd prefer the most by the end of the week."

Donna agreed and I turned my attention to the New York skyline outside my office window as I got up and paced a bit. Walking to the side bar, I refilled my glass of wine, wishing for something stronger now that I had confirmation about where she was going. Well, if the current Slayer can be foolish enough to move to a Hellmouth, this Immortal former Slayer could at least follow her to try and help keep her as safe as I could.


	5. Only So Much to Give

Title: Only So Much to Give  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 13  
Fandom/Theme: Highlander/Buffy/Mummy Movies  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
A/N: This is actually part of a much larger series that I've written out longhand, but keep losing pieces of…This plot bunny surfaced while writing Too Smart for Your Own Good , where I wanted to go into a little bit more detail about Alissa being in Germany.  
Summary: Alissa runs into an old friend in Germany.

"I see you managed to take out von Stiles. Better job than when we tried it during the war," a voice said from behind her.

Alissa spun around, her sword already up because of the Buzz, but she lowered it when she saw who it was. "Ardet, my friend. It has been far too long," she said, hugging him. "How have you been doing?"

"I have been well. I hear you've been up to quite a bit since I saw you last."

Alissa looked back at the gates of the concentration camp, remembering the horrors of their two years there. "Yes, I used my refugee status to my advantage. I went back for my sword and met a nice man there, the son of the couple who'd watched the house after you and I were captured. I came back to the States, claiming to be the daughter of myself to take back control of the business. That would have been 1953. We adopted a young girl in the early 70s, but my past soon caught up with me and she was murdered by vampires when she was in her early twenties." She wiped away tears and continued. "My husband couldn't deal with it, since I'd only told him about being Immortal, never knowing it would be the Slayer part that did us in in the end. He later committed suicide and I didn't know how to deal with that. I left the company in the hands of my trusted advisors and traveled Europe, masquerading as my adopted daughter to establish it for when I returned. So now I came back as Alissa MacKenzie, daughter of Caroline and Joseph. I just got into town here a few weeks ago to try and find von Stiles and now that he's eliminated, I'm probably going to head home."

Ardet stopped her, knowing the tears were still falling. "Let me guess- your daughter was the child of war orphans, wasn't she? We tried to save as many of the Jews as we could. Alissa, we did the best with what we had to work with."

"But we could have done better! We could have tried to keep more from dying. Hell, YOU died because of it."

"Alissa, stop! Yes, I died because of the camps, but we still survived. We sent as many as we could to Evelyn and Rick. Don't let our sacrifices mean nothing. You gave that girl a home- a life. Be thankful for that."

Alissa sighed. "I know. You're right – but it doesn't make it hurt any less. I just hope no one forgets the sacrifices that we all went through to save them."


	6. All in the End

Title: All in the End  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 13  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Star Trek  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
A/N: This is actually part of a much larger series that I've written out longhand, but keep losing pieces of…This plot bunny surfaced after watching the Season 3 Finale of Highlander. So yes, there will be more to this Alissa MacKenzie story than just here.  
Summary: Adam comes to confront Alissa about some things.

Alissa MacKenzie was looking over the quarterly reviews when her secretary buzzed. "Ma'am, an Adam Pierson to see you. Security checked out his id before sending him up."

Alissa pressed a button that activated the hidden camera by her secretary's desk. Verifying that he was who he claimed to be, she told Janet to send him back. After thinking about it for a moment, she buzzed her back and told her secretary she could head on home. If Adam was here, she really didn't want a lot of people around. He could be…unpredictable at times.

There was a knock on the door at the same time her senses buzzed that another Immortal was nearby. She called out for him to enter, remaining seated within easy reach of her sword. Paranoia was definitely a part of everyday life, especially when you had as many years hiding as she had. Methos peeked around the door and grinned at her as she stood up and walked over to give him a hug.

"It's been far too long, my friend. But what brings you to New York? Paris too boring by now? I did think I heard from Amanda that you took on one of the newer activated Slayers. How is that going?" she asked, motioning him to a nearby sofa.

"No, no, it's as busy as ever, but I went on to another project after training Anjelica. I actually convinced Joe that a database might work out now, considering the advances in encryption today, partially thanks to you and your company."

Alissa turned to look at him from her place at the sidebar. She finished pouring their drinks before replying. "Didn't you figure out the last time- after all that went wrong? Donald? Christine? Hell- how many people KALAS killed because of that damn list? Do you really think you can have it secured this time?"

Methos sipped his drink and looked at her coolly. "Actually, it's not just a list of the Watchers and Immortals, like last time, though obviously, we're not going to include all the times we both have become Watchers to keep tabs on things. And we want to make sure that we include information from both branches of the Watchers, both Immortals and Slayers. No, this time we're working on digitalizing all the Journals we can find, especially for the older ones," he replied, setting his glass down and staring at her. "Now, do I tell you what I found when I was going over some of the older journals about you, or are you going to guess?"

Alissa stood up and began to pace her office. "I was wondering how long it would take for someone to put the pieces together, but at least it was you who did. You, of all people, know how hard it is to hide in plain sight. No one looks at you, but _you_know…and it tears a bit of you away every day, every year, that you can't just be yourself."

"Not be yourself? Listen to yourself, Alissa. All I did was not tell people I'm the oldest living Immortal. How the HELL does that compare to an Immortal who apparently doesn't even die when her head's cut off?! How do you explain that?" he shouted, standing up and grabbing her by the shoulders.

She pushed his hands away and walked over to pour herself more Scotch. Taking a sip and a moment to collect her thoughts, she looked at him sadly. "It's really simple, Adam- I wasn't born an Immortal. I made myself one to blend in."

"Sweetheart, if you want me to believe that, you're mistaken. No one can make themselves an Immortal. You're either born that way or you're not."

_Oh, boy, Q's gonna love me trying to talk my way out of this one!_ Alissa thought to herself then chuckled dryly. "Not with me. It's a long story, and certain things I won't be able to tell you for quite some time." _300 years or so, give or take._"But, what's the important part about me not being what I say I am? That I'm pretending to be something or doing it to blend in with humans like I used to be?"

Methos sat back down and waved his hand for her to continue. "Now this, I've got to hear."


	7. Farewell to Arms

Title: Farewell to Arms  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 13  
Fandom/Theme: Buffy/Highlander/Star Trek  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
A/N: This is actually part of a much larger series that I've written out longhand, but keep losing pieces of…This plot bunny surfaced after rewatching the Series Finale of Angel. So yes, there will be more to this Alissa MacKenzie story than just here.  
Summary: Alissa heads to another funeral.

I hate funerals. I really do, and I've been to quite a few in my lifetime. But going to the funerals of good friends who died trying to do the right thing – those are the absolute worst for me. I'd always liked Wes and had gone out of my way to break him out of his shell. I mean, come on, everybody agreed he was a little too stuffed shirt when he first got to Sunnydale! He'd called me about a year or two ago when they'd come back with Fred, and even then I could hear it in his voice. He really liked her and that's what made what happened so much worse, to my mind. To my everlasting regrets, I was in the Underground giving birth to my younger daughter when Illyria showed up. By the time I got back to Earth, it was too late. Tears stream down my cheeks at the funeral home as I remember his reaction when I showed up at Wolfram and Hart.

"You damn bitch! Where the fuck were you? You know more magic than I have in all my tomes. You could have saved her!"

He hit me, slapped me, threw me up against the wall, but I didn't react. I never raised a hand to defend myself until he'd exhausted himself, and me an Immortal and Slayer to boot. I think it was because, deep down, I felt I deserved all that he threw my way. But, then again, I did get off a bit lucky. He never tried to stab me, and I think that's only because I wasn't directly responsible for Illyria in the first place.

And now, he's dead, and I couldn't save him either. Angel had sent me on one last top secret mission while he'd continued manipulating the Circle of the Black Thorn. I was to try and convince as much of the original Scooby Gang as I could that Angel hadn't really gone evil again. Angel asked me later what I'd done to convince Willow, Xander, Faith, Giles and a few dozen others.

"Quite easily, actually," I'd replied. "I showed them the real time version of your little pow-wow with the rest of the team." Now, I had left out the part where it had actually been my rather unpredictable Q powers rather than actual magic. But I think I'm gonna keep that part to myself for a bit longer. Goddess knows how hard it was to keep it out of my explanation to Adam about me. Angel's devious enough to figure that out.

I was distracted when Cordelia, having borrowed (read: raided my closet) one of my couture dresses, came over to hug me. "We've lost so many, Alissa. I mean, think about it – Fred, Doyle, Wes…I don't know how you do it."

I sighed deeply, wondering if she was telepathic like me or not, since I'd just been thinking the same thing. "I don't know. I've been around for a while, and when I figure that out, I'll let you know."

Angel chuckled dryly from behind us. "You still don't know?"

I took a sip of my wine as I turned to face him. "I still mourn children that died a hundred years before you were born. What do you think?"

Like I said, funerals have a tendency to bring out the worst in me. That might be why several vampires end up dust after I have to go to one.


	8. Once a Pirate, Always a Pirate

Title: Once a Pirate, Always a Pirate  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 15  
Fandom/Theme: Highlander/Buffy/Pirates of the Caribbean  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
Summary: A little more background on where Alissa got the information about the facial recog software from "Too Smart for Your Own Good"  
Author's Note: This story is NOT trying to connect my Alissa series with "The Finer Things"...merely love the character of Jack Sparrow

Alissa was busy going over paperwork for a proposal one of her subsidiaries had submitted about extending work more into the Asian market, though by her current estimates, the negotiations were still a couple years off, when her secretary buzzed her.

"Yes, Samantha?" she asked. Sam was one of the many newly activated Slayers who had wanted to do something more than just Slay and train. So, Alissa had hired her, also glad to have an assistant that was aware of the supernatural and all the precautions the Immortal felt were needed.

"A Mr Giancarlo Passero to see you, ma'am. He says he has an appointment to discuss something from the Miami office. And he's already checked out," the younger brunette informed her. All that meant to her was that the basic wards and such hadn't activated, but then Alissa had some more interwoven into her office suite, not to mention at least five blades of varying length within hand, or, if need be, summoning distance.

When she saw who her visitor was, however, her hands itched for the rapier Elizabeth had given her centuries before.

"Jack Sparrow," she spat out, standing up and marching towards him.

The former pirate had barely closed the door before her hand cracked across his cheek, though she did hold back a bit. Trying to explain a broken or dislocated jaw was never easy when you had Slayer strength, after all. Jack gripped his face as he sat down on one of her couches. "Yeah, I might have deserved that," he muttered, his Cockney accent temporarily replacing the more refined one he typically used now.

"Might? **MIGHT**?! You, Oh Great Captain? The one who left me to the mercies of the bloody Spanish after they helped you gather some of the Water?" she seethed, a stiletto in her hand and at his throat in the blink of an eye.

Keeping an eye on the understandably irate Immortal in front of him, Jack raised his hands in surrender as he fought not to tense at the feel of the knife at his throat. "In all honesty, luv, if I'd known what they'd wanted to do to you and why, I would've never made that agreement to let them have a Lightning Warrior. I didn't even know it was you they wanted in the first place- I thought they wanted Turner."

Slightly mollified, Alissa went to replace the knife in it's thigh sheath when Jack's hand was out and stopping her. "Here now, let me help," he murmured, hand gliding up her thigh. Instead of replacing the stiletto, however, his dextrous fingers quickly undid the sheath, sliding it back down her leg while maintaining eye contact the entire time.

"What are you doing, Jack?" she asked softly.

Sparrow stood up to face her, holding her by the shoulders, her heels making her slightly taller than he. "Trying to make up for past mistakes," he murmured before pulling her down and kissing her.

Alissa propped herself up on one elbow, the sheet sliding down towards her waist, watching Jack as he lay on his back, trying to recover from their latest round. "So, Jack, why did you _really_stop by, because I know it wasn't just to get me back in bed."

Sparrow turned on his own side to face her. "Well, I'm not one to complain when my lover has an apartment above her own office, but I came to you with a concern that IS from the Miami office. There's been serious talk lately with some of the government acronyms to look into someone developing a facial recognition software for use in the civilian world," he informed her, his voice grave for a change.

Alissa frowned. "And when those of us Immortals, whether born or made, such as yourself with the Water of Eternal Youth, or vampires or demons...Yes, I can certainly see this becoming a problem. I'll get my people working on it right away."

Jack drew her closer to kiss her again as he ran a hand down her side, pushing the sheet down further. "There's plenty of time for that in the morning, luv. Wouldn't you say?"


	9. Hide in Plain Sight

Title: Hide in Plain Sight  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR15  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. I may not own the series that Alissa filters through, but the concept of her is something I came up with  
Genre: Gen/AU  
Fandoms: Star Trek/Angel/Lie to Me/Highlander  
Word Count: 907  
Timeline: After "Honey" for Lie to Me…nothing much for any of the other ones  
Written For: crossover100 Q prompts  
Prompt: 40- Sight  
Summary: Cal Lightman doesn't like having to give up control of his company…even a little bit.

"Cal, we need the investors," Gillian insisted as Cal stormed into his office.

"Maybe so, but why say yes without bloody asking me first?" he demanded, slamming the folder she'd given him on the desk.

Foster winced. "I didn't tell them 'yes', Cal. I told them maybe. MacKenzie Corporation is the one who asked to meet us. They even offered to come to DC."

Cal sighed and she could tell from his face that he was resigned about this. "Fine. When will they be here? And what about the cameras?"

"They said they'd call when they landed and that they didn't mind us filming them," Foster told them.

Cal thought about who was in the office. "Well, Loker's out doing research, so get Torres to set things up in the conference room. I'll look over this little request from the embassy in Singapore until they get here."

Loker called Ria while she was setting up the cameras. "So, what am I missing while running around town on this embassy case?" he asked.

"A couple of investors are here to talk to Doctor Lightman about getting partial control of the Lightman Group, so a little less radical honesty when you get back might be a good goal," she advised as Doctor Foster came out to greet the two women. Foster's initial impression was that the older brunette was the one in control and the younger one was learning the ropes, as the elder introduced themselves as Alissa MacKenzie and Faith Marshall. Gillian thought she'd seen a flicker of dishonesty at the mention of Faith's name, but it was gone so fast, she wondered if she'd even seen anything.

Leading them into the conference room as Cal came in, she asked the receptionist to get drinks and then closed the door behind them.

"So, your company's interested in investing in The Lightman Group? Why do you even bother?" Cal asked bluntly.

Alissa didn't bat an eye at his abrupt tone, but from the research he'd done on her and her company while he'd waited (instead of the embassy work like he'd told Foster) he hadn't expected to rattle her. Instead, his gambit had worked as expected and torqued her assistant, who'd shown signs of aggression from the moment they'd arrived, which made things more and more interesting.

"Frankly, Doctor Lightman, I prefer to always be on the cutting edge as far as science and technology are concerned," Alissa replied calmly, leaning forward. "And, to be perfectly honest, I've always found the behavioral sciences more interesting than the pure sciences. I leave that to my biologists."

"Now, you do understand that though you might be an investor, you and your company would not have any say in the cases we take on nor the way in which we perform our investigations. Only those currently employed here and its law enforcement contacts will have access to our discussions and conclusions. How does that hand tying sound to you?"

Alissa grinned. "I'd say it sounds more like a handfasting, wouldn't you say? I'll be staying at my townhouse here in DC until you've told me about your decision. Will that be convenient?"

"Certainly," Cal agreed as he and Gillian got up and shook hands with both women. After walking them out, Foster came back in, an question clear on her face.

"Do I trust her to follow through on the investment agreement as I've laid it out? Certainly. She's a business woman, above everything else. But she's got a few things she's hiding and I won't sign anything giving over part of my company until I know more about what it could be," he told her.

"Do you really think a human lie detector isn't gonna catch on to what the hell is going on with us?" Faith demanded once they were back in the car.

Alissa laughed. "First off, he's an expert in microexpressions. He can only tell _if_you're lying, not what you're necessarily lying about. Secondly, don't let him keep baiting you. You reveal more about what you're trying to hide when you're pissed."

Faith slouched in the seat, putting her heels up on the dash. Alissa didn't know whether to wince at her wrinkling the couture suit or laugh that she sat there as if she was still wearing her leather pants. Lighting a cigarette and sucking on it before answering, Faith asked why Alissa had wanted to bring her along.

"Well, Angel and Spike are out for obvious reasons," she said, adjusting her sunglasses. "Buffy, they would either not take seriously enough or, more disastrous, Cal would take one look at her and wonder why her attitude and looks don't match up. Xander would raise too many questions, as would Illyria, even in her Fred persona. And Willow would just crumble under one hard stare from Lightman and babble all our secrets. You, on the other hand **are**as tough as you look and give as good as you get- just like me. And as for whether or not he finds out, I have permission from both Giles and Joe to test the waters about the Lightman Group eventually becoming an asset for both Councils."

_And maybe help out Torchwood 3 if they need it. Hiding as a Q in plain sight is something I need all the help I can get_ Alissa thought ruefully as she put in a call to Methos on the wireless car phone.


	10. Suspicions Help

Title: Suspicions Help  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 15  
Fandom/Theme: Angel/White Collar  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Series: FFA Madness #3; Alissa's Interests  
Spoilers: After Neal gets back to New York for "White Collar"  
Summary: Connor and Angel reconnect with some informants in New York  
Author's Note: Yes, I know this doesn't have Alissa in it directly, but she's still helping out.

Mozzie had insisted on meeting them at his friend Neal's place, having told father and son that he'd "already swept for bugs and trusted the Suit to be kind enough not to put any new ones in", whatever that meant. But, in the aftermath of the main End of Days fight, Angel was scrambling to find whatever connections they could find to help in the continuing battle against the Senior Partners. To that end, Alissa had pointed them to a couple of men she'd called "gentlemen thieves" as help when branching out into the New York area. After sharing lunch with Alissa's Watcher Mac Taylor and catching him up on what supernatural chaos had happened since they'd last spoken, Angel and Connor headed over to the East Side and the brownstone one Neal Caffery was currently residing in. From what research Alissa had done on both men from the one time Neal and Mozzie had tried to relieve her of her favorite Degas (and failed), Angel knew that Neal had his own brand of moral compass, as did Mozzie, though his ran more towards conspiracy theories than not. This also had a way of making him more usable in certain areas, because most demon sects and magic practitioners were unlikely to take someone seriously who had such outlandish theories on life, or with the mundanes when he would ramble on about vampires, demons and magic.

Angel knocked on the door, to have it opened by a balding, bespectacled man who merely waved them inside. "Many years of working with people like your ex-girlfriend's Scooby Gang has stifled the urge in me to ever say 'Enter' to anyone I do not personally know to have a pulse or have seen in daylight," Mozzie commented as he handed the two men half filled wine glasses. "I assume from what our mutual friend told us that your son is old enough to imbibe and if not, he looks close enough to pass for it."

Connor grinned as he and Angel followed Mozzie out onto the terrace where Neal was already waiting. "In any realm, I'm definitely old enough," he assured them, a grin evident in his voice.

Neal smiled good-naturedly as he glanced from father to son. "So, Mozzie told me he know you through our friend Alissa," he commented as Mozzie muttered "Singular individual" under his breath.

Connor had met Alissa a few times- hell, he'd arranged to meet her for drinks after they were done here- but even the Destroyer had sensed something OFF, or maybe _different_ was a better word, about her. _I mean, I met Duncan that one time when he came to Dad about his investment, but his Quickening felt WAY different than hers,_he thought then brought his head up when he heard Angel mentioning how his friendship with Alissa was a long standing relationship of many years.

"I find it hard to believe that she would be willing enough to be friends with a vampire. She was a Watcher long ago, after all," Mozzie commented from his seat in the sun.

Connor raised a brow at that statement. "Important knowledge, but highly incomplete, since my father has been both resouled- three times, with two of them having been done by Willow the Red, as she is sometimes known, and been given Shanshu. This prophecy, which was all about rewarding him for his hard work at atoning for his sins as Angelus, means he is now an immortal human, much like my stepmom," he cautioned the older man. "So, no, Miss MacKenzie knew who she was being friends with and recommending both of us to the other party with that knowledge fully in mind."

Neal smirked, having much experience calming Mozzie's many conspiracy theories. "Yes, I know what Moz told me; this idea is up there with his Sons of the Revolution still being around bit," he commented, though his smile diminished at Angel's smirk.

"Sadly, that theory of Mozzie's is as true as me being a former vampire. If I was still a vampire, I would vamp out to prove it, but I much prefer being human again," Angel told him with a shrug.

Connor's grin widened. "We could always take Neal on a patrol- I know Alissa wouldn't mind helping out either."

"Oh no! I am not having Neal ANYWHERE near the supernatural contingent yet. He doesn't have anywhere near enough training!" Mozzie interjected in hurriedly.

Connor smiled. "No, we know you want to keep your best friend safe. We were mainly here to see what, if any, help you could give our network of people that we're reestablishing for when supernatural things happen or noises are made that they're about to."


	11. Aftermath

Title: Aftermath  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR13  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. I may not own the series that Alissa filters through, but the concept of her is something I came up with  
Genre: Gen/AU  
Fandoms: Angel/Highlander  
Word Count: 998  
Timeline: After Angel's series finale  
Series: Alissa's Interests  
Summary: Alissa and Connor talk about what it was like when she first met his father

People had recovered a lot by this point. The more plebian and mundane of them were just happy another election was over and done with. Others, the ones who knew what was really going on in the world, were happy to still be up walking around after the main End of Days battle.

"But, we both know that the Senior Partners and their minions are far from done with us, Shanshu'ed father of yours or not," Alissa murmured as she took a sip of her beer.

Connor scowled at her over his own beer. "Wish you wouldn't do that, ya know," he groused.

She smiled at him from the other side of the booth at one of the many bars that dotted New York City. "I can't really help reading your intent when you broadcast it as loud as your father does sometimes." Off of his look, she explained. "It's kinda like radio stations- most of it is static, but strong signals once in a while. It's nothing like what Buffy went through when she got infected by that one demon- I was born with telepathy and so I have to work on NOT reading thoughts," she told him. She had vague memories of someone she trusted teaching her how to filter things out and shield against most, and thought it might've been while camping, since she remembers being out among the stars, but not much more than that. She'd had these mini flashes of memories quite a few times over the centuries, but had trained herself to simply accept what bits she could recollect, and not try to probe at the memories. She'd tried that once in what was once known as Iran four centuries before. She'd had too much of the native wine and had tried to remember more about having felt like she'd been in the area at some time ahead of her. All she'd done is give herself such a massive migraine that she'd been laid low for over three days, and counted her blessings that no Immortal had happened upon her during that time. So she'd decided to not ever think about trying that again- if she got memories, she got them whenever she did.

"So, if my dad's the same way as me, how'd you find that out? Wes said you're an Immortal, so you must've known him back when he wasn't Soul Boy."

Alissa chuckled, thankful they were tucked away into a quiet corner. "You've been spending WAY too much time with Faith and Spike. But, to answer your question, no I never really ran across him back when he was being the Scourge of Europe, though I definitely heard _of_him. He killed a Slayer I'd been the Watcher of around the time he was turned…about 1760 or so, I think. And then there was the time I left for San Francisco after hearing the terrible trio was back on the Continent. But other than that, it wasn't until I moved to Sunnydale when I'd gotten word that's where Buffy went, that I ran into Angel again.

"She did it! I'll be damned!" Angel muttered from out front of the Bronze where he was standing watch.

"And I bet you're all disappointed about your grandsire not rising, eh Angelus?"

Angel spun around to see Alissa standing about 50 yards away, a crossbow trained at his chest. "Caroline? What are you doing in Sunnydale?"

Alissa was momentarily stunned, but continued to level the weapon at him. "We'll get to how you know the last name I went by later; for now, I just want to know what kind of twisted game you're playing at right now. I know how much you love playing games, Angelus. Noone in this town may know about what and who you are, but I've been around- I do know."

Angel sighed. "No, you really don't- I'm not Angelus anymore…I haven't been for nearly a century. Look it up in the diaries- I was cursed with a soul by gypsies at the turn of the century."

Alissa stood there for a moment, wrapping his stray thoughts around in her head like so much cotton candy. And to extend her mental metaphor, his words tasted of truth. But truth was a very sticky thing, especially with vampires.

"So what did you do? And who was Caroline?" Connor demanded, thanking the waitress as she set down their next round.

Alissa smiled. "Caroline was the identity I used before using this one. Apparently, your father had sensed me having the energy signature of a Slayer back in the 50's and, especially after what he'd let happen at the Hyperion, he felt like he had to make up for that. So he apparently decided to trail me around San Francisco as I tried to discourage someone whom as it turns out, was on Wolfram and Hart's payroll. He was looking into the background of Brianna Marshall, who was about to have a Navy ship named after her. Bad thing was, Brianna was my name during the American Civil War and I couldn't have the investigator find that out. Worked out- sort of. Vamps got to him and I nearly got blamed for it by JAG and NCIS, but that's a story for another time."

"So did you help Buffy and the rest of them when the Master tried to rise?" Connor asked, eager to hear another side of the stories that Angel and Wes were sometimes hesitant over.

Alissa chuckled. "I may be Immortal., but I'm not omnipresent. I had no more clue as to where the Master was than the rest of the group did. Besides which, I wasn't sure if I wasn't the Slayer that the prophecy mentioned. So, I just tried to take down as many fledglings as I could, and let Buffy do her duty."

Connor leaned forward, a grin on his face. "So what else did you help them out with?"


	12. An Angel to Save NEW

Title: An Angel to Save  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 15  
Fandom/Theme: Angel/Supernatural  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Series: Alissa's Interests #12  
Spoilers: Not much, just AU from "Hammer of the Gods" onwards  
Summary: A different take on what happens at The Elysian Fields Hotel  
Author's Note: My first take on writing Supernatural after getting sucked into the fandom a couple months ago. I had originally only planned on writing a Supernatural fic that ties in between **No Bones About It** and **All Hands on Deck**, my upcoming NCIS fic, but this little muse idea wouldn't leave me alone til I wrote it, so here ya go...hope you like it.

**THEN**

"Lucifer, you're my brother. And I love you. But you are a great big bag of dicks," Gabriel told the older angel, fighting the urge to check behind him that the Winchesters had listened and were hustling Kali out of there.

"Wait, what did you just say to me?" Lucifer looked incredulously at his brother.

"Look at yourself! Boo hoo! Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all his toys," Gabriel said with a shake of his head.

Lucifer shook his finger at Gabriel. "Watch your tone."

"Play the victim all you want. But you and me? We know the truth. Dad loved you best. More than Michael, more than me. Then he brought the new baby home and you couldn't handle it. So this is all just one big temper tantrum. Time to grow up," he ordered, crossing his arms.

Lucifer stared at his brother. "Gabriel, if you're doing this for Michael..."

Gabriel shrugged. "Screw him. If he were standing here, I'd shiv his ass too."

"You disloyal-"

The blonde angel held up his finger. "Oh, I'm loyal. To them!"

Satan looked confused. "Who? These so called Gods?"

Gabe shook his head, amazed at his brother as always. "To people, Lucifer. People," he explained, feeling like he was talking to a child sometimes.

"They are broken. Flawed! Abortions."

He took a step towards his brother. "Damn right they're flawed. But a lot of them try. To do better, to forgive. And you should see the Spearmint Rhino! I've been riding the pine a long time. But I'm in the game now, and I'm not on your side, or Michael's. I'm on theirs."

Lucifer hung his head, saddened. "I know you think you're doing the right thing, Gabriel. But I know where your heart truly lies."

But, as he'd known Gabriel was really trying to do with the long speech, he caught the Angel Sword as it lunged towards him and plunged it into the other man's chest. "Here. Amateur hocus-" but it wasn't the angel behind him, but a woman. She had the dusky complexion of someone from the Middle East and the eyes of someone who'd spent quite a bit of time battling in her native land.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Lucy, but can't have you reeking Armageddon yet, now can we?" she told him, though blood bubbled up over her lips.

"Oh really?" he said conversationally as he twisted the sword and heard Gabriel yell out "Phoebe!" from behind her.

Phoebe glanced down at the sword sticking out of her chest, then back up at Lucifer, as, instead of falling over dead, she smiled and pulled the knife out, blue lightning licking at the edges of her wound. "Gonna have to do better than that," she taunted and the Morning Star grew thunderous.

"A damn Immortal! I never knew how Our Father could let your kind live- you're worse than Leviathan!"

Phoebe smirked. "Those bottom feeders? They only wanted to consume Earth and then the rest of the cosmos. I'm just here to interfere in a family squabble that has dire consequences if you don't get your damn head out of your ass like your brother was trying to tell you."

Lucifer's only response was to shove her across the room, while Gabriel stood between the two of them, torn. He grabbed his own sword, advancing towards his brother, when Phoebe frowned as she stood up, leaning against the wall for support.

"You upstart angels- thinking that everything to be had is here on this planet. I'd rather live to fight another day, however," she told Satan and with a snap of her fingers and a flash of light, she and Gabriel were gone.

*****

**BEFORE**

Gabriel sat in the car, rain pattering on the windshield as he stared at the hotel. A door opened and a surprisingly dry Phoebe got into the passenger seat of the Impala. "The Winchesters in there?" she asked and Gabriel nodded tersely.

"Stupid morons think they can take on my big brother all on their own. That Bobby Singer is right- they are idjits."

Phoebe scoffed. "And yet, after Dean's rant top you, you're seriously contemplating pulling a sacrificial lamb approach to get close to Lucifer to take him out yourself. Not gonna work, by the way- older sibs always know what their youngers are going to do because they've already done it. So I have an idea that I think means we can both get out of this alive."

*****

**NOW**

She was glad to finally have a chance to shower at her place in Georgetown- she may have been able to cover it with Lucifer, since time was of the essence, but, as always, stabbing the heart hurt like a sonofabitch and took longer to heal. Plus, she knew the fallen angel was still on a beeline for the Winchesters, so she knew she should have some time to get away. That, and she wanted to talk to Dr Lightman about what she;d been hearing about in the news from DC lately. She was towel drying her hair as she came out of the bathroom, so she heard him before she saw him.

"Not that I'm not one to enjoy the view and all, but do you know what a BITCH it was to track you down finally?"

Cursing herself for her neglect, Alissa quickly grabbed her robe and belted it tightly. Glaring at the smirking archangel, she walked into the closet in her bedroom. Quickly selecting an outfit, she dressed there, then came back out, boots in one hand and the Angel dagger in the other. Setting them down, she kept her gaze on Gabriel as she slid into her shoes.

"Now, darling, no need to be hasty with that," he said with a forced grin. "Already had big brother try to skiv me with that."

Alissa merely rolled her eyes and handed the knife back to him moments before she placed her palm on his chest. He yelped in pain as a bright light surrounded her hand for a moment before dimming again. "Hey!" he yelled as he yanked his shirt up and stared at his chest. "What the **fuck** does that say?"

Alissa shook her head as she walked over to the dresser to grab her go bag for patrols. "You little upstarts- thinking Terra and it's inhabitants are the only ones out there. Those sigils were old when your Father created this world, so I do believe it should be able to keep you from Lucifer's sight for the time being," she told him before he left in a flutter of wings.

*****

**LATER**

Alissa was in the middle of things with the usually grating Dr House when she decided to go through the mail the girls had left for her before she started dinner. She knew she needed to get it going while House reviewed the paperwork on Buffy and Faith, but the script on one envelope caught her eye.

It had been addressed to her house in Georgetown, but since all of her personal mail had been forwarded here for the time being, she understood what might have happened. The return address was for a Gabriel Richards JR out of Metropolis Illinois. Intrigued, she opened it to find a small note with an enclosed picture of a blonde man and a striking Indian woman. The note read _Glad you helped- much happier traveling with Kali._

So, in spite of her worry and concern about her sister Slayers, Alissa was at least happy that the Trickster could still make her smile.


	13. Mutable Life

Title: Mutable Life  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR15  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. I may not own the series that Alissa filters through, but the concept of her is something I came up with  
Genre: Gen/AU  
Fandoms: Star Trek /Angel/CSI: NY/Highlander  
Word Count: 1337  
Series: Alissa's Interests  
Written For: crossover100 Q prompts  
Prompt: 58- Dinner  
Summary: Immortals in New York? Never!

Mac Taylor shaded his eyes from the bright May sunlight as he looked down at the corpse of one Kennedy Thompson. Danny was taking pictures of the scene, marking down both the position of the body and of the head. He looked up as Mac came over.

"Stella went to the hospital to interview the witness. Best we can tell from this so far is that someone attacked the two women and cut this one's head off. Might have been surprised before he could get to the witness. Have to wait until we get this one back to the Doc before we know more."

Mac nodded and went to head out of the alley when his foot landed on some glass. He glanced up to see the floodlight broken, then continued to observe the otherwise well kept area.

"Danny, tell me what else you see about this scene," he said, pushing his CI.

"A lot of glass," the younger man commented, then looked up as Mac had moments before. "Wait a sec, all the bulbs and some of the lower windows are all blown out."

Mac frowned in concentration. "Exactly. Find out why."

Stella had originally planned to head down to the hospital, but instead headed toward Park Blvd after Flack called to tell her that the other possible victim had been released and went home. Flack was going to get the basic information from the ER doctor then meet up with Stella when he was done. In the meantime, Stella was busy taking in the posh digs Mrs. Alissa MacKenzie lived in. The woman herself answered the door, a butterfly bandage visible on her cheek.

"Sorry about the confusion, Miss Bonasera. I've never really liked staying in hospitals long," she said with an apologetic smile. "Please, come in. Can I get you anything?"

Stella looked around at the tasteful furnishings as Alissa lead her into the living room. "No, thank you. I just have a few questions, since the ER doctor said he took photos when you were admitted. First off, how did you happen to be in that area?"

"After the big gang war in LA, a lot of my close friends left and I heard from my friend Willow that one of our friends, Kennedy, might be here in New York."

"Kennedy Thompson? The dead woman?" Stella asked, focusing on the other woman's face as she answered.

She smiled sadly. "Yes, the victim was the friend I came to meet."

"And the friend you mentioned earlier? The one who told you about Ms. Thompson being in New York?" Stella prompted.

"Willow Rosenburg. She teaches at the Jenny Calendar School for Girls in Cleveland," Alissa informed her.

Stella made a note to ask Flack to look that up later, then motioned for Alissa to continue.

"I used my contacts here in New York to find out where she'd been staying and called her to ask if she'd like to meet up for drinks or dinner. We agreed to meet at a bar not too far from where we were attacked. We were heading back when this guy came out of nowhere. He was yelling something in a foreign language and coming at us with a sword or something. She pushed me out of the way, my head hit the wall and I blacked out. Next thing I know, someone's shaking me, asking me if I'm okay and that they'd called 911. The doctors said I had a contusion and a few bumps and bruises, so I had them treat the worst of them and let me go home."

Stella nodded in understanding. "Well, that's all we need for now. We'll call if we need to ask you about anything else."

Back at the lab, Stella, Mac and Flack conferred in Mac's office. "So who is this Alissa MacKenzie?" Mac asked.

"Head of a big multinational corporation- majorly in electronics and computers, though it has been diversifying in recent years," Flack said. "Born overseas, she was adopted by a New York couple who used to own the company she runs now. Makes regular donations to a Jenny Calendar School for Girls, among other similar things. I'd called to verify that a Willow Rosenburg did work there, and she confirmed telling Ms. MacKenzie about where to find Ms. Thompson. She was very upset to find that Kennedy was dead- apparently they'd dated for a while."

Mac's eyebrows rose a bit at that statement. "Other than that, what else do we know about the victim?"

"She's actually from a rather wealthy family here in New York..we're talking summer house in the Hamptons wealthy. Apparently the family didn't take too well with her wanting to date other debutantes rather than the scions of the other wealthy families. She left home and ended up in Sunnydale for a while- apparently dating Miss Rosenburg during that time," Flack informed them.

"Wait a sec- Sunnydale? That town that fell off the map during that earthquake a few years ago?" Stella clarified. "That must have been harsh."

Flack agreed. "She apparently had made up with her family and moved back to New York about a year ago. Other than that, all I can get from her neighbors is that she was quiet and kept to herself."

"So what did the coroner say?" Mac asked Stella.

"Her head was severed with a very sharp object, maybe the sword Ms. MacKenzie said she saw."

"Swords?" Flack put in. "Doc at the ER said she looked like she'd been cut a few times on her arms by a long, sharp object."

Stella frowned. "She didn't mention any cuts, just bumps and bruises. I'll go-"

"No," Mac cut in "I'll go talk to her. See what's going on."

Alissa MacKenzie answered the door, all smiles in a long tunic and jeans. "Detective Taylor, to what do I owe this honor?"

"Might I come in and explain?" he asked, not at all surprised when she just waved him through. Since it was early evening, he wasn't too surprised to see her enjoying some drinks after dinner. Taking a seat across from her on a sofa, he told her "This is actually about your shoddy cover up abilities."

Alissa frowned as she sat down and took a sip of her white wine. "I didn't mean to black out that long, Mac, but I had to block the Dark Quickening from leaking through, while still retaining all the other memories. I've already taken a Dark Quickening once in my life, as you well know, and I didn't feel like going through that again."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't totally clean up after yourself. Where did you hide the swords, by the way? I know the team didn't find any at the scene."

She smirked, as if at an inside joke. "My little secret….magic, you could say. But I am sorry for having to make your team jump through hoops on this one."

Mac smiled. "Not to worry. It's not the first time it's happened and probably won't be the last. Just be more careful next time, okay? I know Joe doesn't like to read my progress reports about shoddy cover ups when you're involved." He told her as he got up and let himself out.

Q popped into existence next to here the moment the other man was gone, swords in hand. "Here's the nice sharp pointy objects. 'My little secret' my ass," he said with a laugh.

Alissa took the swords from him and went to put them in the display case. "I certainly can't tell him I'm not entirely human and can create a pocket universe to temporarily hold things, now can I? My life is all about how much truth I can tell what people. All I can say is thank the Goddess that I have Jareth to be able to unload about anything, especially about Kennedy coming back and thinking she could take me on for how I handled things about Willow's Immortality."

Q thought back to her smiling for the camera in her wedding photos. "Yes, it is a blessing."


	14. History in A Minor

Title : History in A Minor  
Author : Christy  
Rating : FR15  
Disclaimer : I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. I may not own the series that Alissa filters through, but the concept of her is something I came up with  
Fandoms : Angel/Highlander/Real Life  
Series : Alissa's Interests  
Summary : At a concert to take their minds off of Kennedy's death, Alissa remembers another time she heard Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.  
Author's Note: It's weird where you get inspiration from, but I was reading a book about music and musicians, and I'd seen **Immortal Beloved**many times when the idea for this story came into being….Hope you like it.

The costumes worn might have changed over the years, but the music, if played well like it had been tonight, never failed to have feeling welling up in her chest. The entire audience was on their feet, applauding the orchestra and the world renowned conductor. Alissa was reminded of the first time she'd heard this symphony. The great esteemed composer had been set to reveal his latest composition, though there had been much speculation how well it would be due to the well known fact that Herr Beethoven was deaf. Alissa was close friends with the fellow Immortal who had been Ludwig's lover off and on for years, so she wasn't too surprised when Caroline burst into the room one afternoon, declaring confidently to her friend that her lover was almost finished with the piece.

She had looked up from her ledgers with a smile, glad to see her friend in better spirits. Composers were a temperamental lot at the best of times, and Ludwig put them all to shame, especially once he'd started losing his hearing. Caroline had come to cry on Alissa's shoulders numerous times whenever she and the composer got into arguments. But for now, Alissa put the quill back in the inkwell and smiled at her friend. "Well then, my dear, we shall definitely have to be there at his debut."

Now the best of Viennese society was packed into the Royal Opera House, ready to hear Beethoven lead the orchestra in the first time his Ninth Symphony. The brilliant man bowed to the audience, turned around, raised his baton and away they went. When it was over, Beethoven stood there in from of the orchestra as the House was covered in thunderous applause. It was only when the assistant conductor turned him around was the true miracle of this night brought back to her, and tears pricked her eyes.

"Alissa, are you okay? We're getting ready to head back to the house before the burial tomorrow," Giles reminded her.

The brunette mentally shook herself then realized she'd been crying. "Thank you, Rupert. I had just hoped that an evening of distraction was in order. I know that Kennedy knew what Willow was going to be- I just never thought that it would be a Dark Quickening that spilled the beans about her becoming Immortal," she said tiredly. "I didn't even want to be the one to have to handle it, but when Willow called me, hysterical because of what Kennedy had tried to do to her, I had to do something."

"Well, I know a lot of us appreciate the sacrifice you had to make and-"

"I'm not the only one who had to sacrifice something of themselves, Rupert," Alissa said softly, looking over to where Willow still sat, staring at the empty stage while Spike sat next to her. The vampire just held her hand and murmured softly to her. "He'll take good care of her," she said with confidence. "I'll see you back at the house later."


	15. Forever Friends

Title: Forever Friends  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR 13  
Fandom/Theme: Highlander/BtVS/Star Trek  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here. They belong to their respective creators and production companies.  
Distribution: and TtH  
Spoilers: None  
A/N: This is actually part of a much larger series that I've written out longhand, but keep losing pieces of…So yes, there will be more to this Alissa MacKenzie story than just these shorts.  
Summary: Alissa goes to Methos for advice.

Alissa chuckled as she looked over the rim of her wine glass at one of her oldest friends. "Teaching and studying again, I see."

Methos inclined his head in agreement. "I've always felt better when I've had something to do. Besides, I've always been much better on good old Terra Firma, and I got a good offer to teach at the Academy."

The brunette laughed. "Which is a nice way of saying you don't envy me my post as Captain of the _Miami_. Well, one of our friends doesn't seem to have as much of a problem with it."

Methos grinned. "Don't tell me - Amanda's going to actually buckle down and listen to Starfleet?"

"No, and I can't see her doing it either. It's Duncan. He applied for the post of my First Officer, and that's why I'm here."

"You want to know if I think he can do the job? I think he's just right for it – for you. You need someone as your XO who knows what's going on and who and what you are. Not many are as qualified for that as Duncan. So, what about for night command?"

Alissa smirked. "I don't have anyone yet, but Willow said she'd talk to Spike about him taking the job."

"Well, good luck, and be sure to let me know when you ship out. I'll come up to the ship yards for that, at least."


	16. Cannot Happen

Title: Cannot Happen  
Author: Christy  
Rating: FR15  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these series...I'm just borrowing the situation for a bit. I may not own the series that Alissa filters through, but the concept of her is something I came up with  
Genre: Gen/AU  
Fandoms: Star Trek /Angel/Anita Blake  
Word Count: 569  
Timeline: After both Next Gen and Angel series finales  
Written For: crossover100 Q prompts  
Prompt: 45- Moon  
Summary: A what-if idea a friend suggested…what would happen if Alissa, with all her powers, was turned?

Q sighed as he jumped into another stream of the multiverse. He'd been following her trail for a subjective week, tracking her from one timeline to the next, picking up the pieces as best he could. Noone had known about the true capriciousness of Fate and how fickle a mistress she truly could be at times. Now the one human born and snatched out of the 20th century, given the powers of the Q on another capricious whim, was bouncing around the multiverse without a soul or a care in the world except her own interests. But, this wasn't the kind of soulessness all the Q seemed to be created from, mind you, but a more deadly kind. Alissa MacKenzie had been ambushed, tranqued and turned by the vampires of her natural timeline. None of the idiot fledglings involved had known what they'd be unleashing, at least not in the 25 seconds of existence they'd had left after Q had found out what had happened. The reverberations of what they'd thought they'd done to a simply powerful ex-Slayer had hopscotched though everything, which is why the Continuum had tapped him to clean up the mess. He knew the Scooby Gang, as Alissa had called what friends she had from those hard years in the early 21st century LA, would have control of things in 2392 until he got her back in one piece. Just then, he heard a growl behind him then a chuckle he wished he didn't recognize. He spun around to face Alissa, her unnatural paleness gleaming in the moonlight, intrigued by the similarities and differences between the woman standing before him now and the one he'd watched fight him tooth and nail numerous times on the _Enterprise_.

"Come to take me back so Willow can curse a soul back into me?" she asked with another dark chuckle that invited thoughts of seduction and pain. The jaguar at her feet growled at him again and she stilled the animal with a snap of her fingers. "Be quiet, Gregory. Q is our guest, for now. Do not anger me. Jaguars are my animal to call in this world, so behave yourself."

Q smirked at her, realizing that her human and now demonic thought process hadn't come up with what should have been elementary to someone like themselves. "No, my dear, you've already saved me a couple of times, so it's about time I returned the favor," he explained as he watched her muscles bunch moments before she leapt at him, fangs bared. He grabbed a hold of her by the arms and flipped them over so she was on the bottom. Then, before she could anticipate him, he dropped down, his body flush against hers, holding her down as he fused his mouth to hers. He thrust his powers into her, burning the demon's essence to cinders in the blink of an eye.

He rolled off of her and pulled her to her feet as she began sobbing into his chest. "Don't worry," he whispered as he felt the worlds literally realign. "It's all fixed now. That's what I can be good at sometimes, remember?"

Alissa gave a watery chuckle as she let go of him. "You mean when you're not the reason it got fucked up in the first place?"

Q nodded in agreement. "You've got me there. Now, let's clean up here and get you home."


End file.
